Was VPN used as a selection criteria ?
27 replies (most recent on top)
How pathetic that people are now focused on watching their VPN time, how many times their badge is swiped and did you "collaborate" today. What a sad, unproductive way to run what was once a stellar company. All we hear everyday from management is "I received this report today about our group...blah blah". I guess the actual work we are all doing doesn't make a difference anymore, it's all about not showing up on a Dallas dictatorship report.
The only obvious criteria used this time was if you were located in a hub or not. I work in a large Class A Regional Data Center with hundreds of people. It is not considered a 'Hub' for some ridiculous reason, but is larger than other 'hubs'. It did not matter if you were a FOW for an FTO. I watched as FTO workers who are there everyday get let go. Whole teams of people, and selected individuals. It did not matter if you were a top performer or a slacker. THERE WERE NO LEVEL 3's OR HIGHER IN THIS FORCED REDUCTION. However, if you look at the larger group of those selected, the unobvious criteria was age and salary. Since AT&T has to legally provide a list the numbers of those selected, such as age and position, etc., others that met other criteria were selected to dilute this fact. This was also not a 'surplus', as the function of whole teams that were laid off were sent to Mexico and other offshore resources. This was a well planned selection by higher levels to get the best bang for their buck, since their number one priority this year is to pay off debt. What better way than to target some of their most expensive level 2 employees?
The impact of this round, along with the numerous regular quarterly rounds of layoffs over the last several years, is the last straw for the remaining level 2 workforce. They no longer will care about corporate initiatives, or what is said in the townhalls, or care about helping save AT&T money. They no longer TRUST leadership to do THEIR jobs. To level 2 now, it's only about a paycheck and finding the next better job.
Randall, his reports, and the BOD's, have made some of the worst business decisions in the history of this company, have blown BILLIONS of dollars on misguided acquisitions and have blown BILLIONS in attempts to modernize its failing infrastructure (SDN, VNF, OPENSTACK CLOUD, etc.), with no real ROI. With record debt, failing stock and more desperate moves such as the latest rounds of layoffs, demonstrates the results of the bad decisions of AT&T leadership. And it shows who's really paying for it, the lower level employees, "The ones who actually make it work". If my A&D (which seems that this doesn't even matter anymore) read that I lost $5B, I think I would lose more than just my bonus.
Collaboration is a smokescreen to just gut the number of employees. If you don’t see that, I feel bad for you. This quote is taken from published WP2020 mission: “employ for talent, not location”. I guess that applies until leadership makes horribly bad decisions to ruin the company and they need to go against the mission to justify their scapegoating! Disgusting!
What the mo--n leadership does not realize is if they use strict VPN usage % as an indicator of office time they are going to get people who just work 40 hrs a week and that’s all. If you work over 8 hrs a day on VPN it only hurts your report. If I am allowed only 3 days WFH (24 hrs), that's all the heck I am going to work those days at home! OT will drop dramatically now. And who the heck is going to work more than 8 hours when in the office bumping elbows with 1) stinky “I ate too much garlic for dinner last night” 2) doofus beside you having a conference call using their laptop speaker 3) excessive flatulence dude behind you 4) Tuna and boiled eggs for a snack mid-morning in front of you. We are all going to get out of that crowded building fast as we can when we have to go in. Yup, AT&T is moving/de-evolving into an industrial factory mentality. Next we will have to use physical punch cards and have foremen walking the floor to check on us.
AT&T is the world's largest Kindergarten in the world. Using badge swipes and VPN usage as a primary way to manage its employees. Coupled with non-Collaboration Zone targeted layoffs, this is a great way to both age discriminate (to maximize cost cutting and make sure top leadership gets their bigger bonuses) and kill off productivity of the remaining workers all at the same time. Respect for the individual is dead. Train wreck, here we come!
So dumb....a good majority of the occupancy codes are bogus as are the work locations....Many folks updated their address with Dallas, Texas many moons ago but work from home.....It is a known fact and who could blame them...
so ridiculous. FOW, work mostly from home. developer, create automation tools. now, I am told have to go into CZ. know no one at CZ, team and customers spread throughout the country. So, must trudge into CZ with a 5 1/2 hour commute roundtrip where I collaborate with no one physically and now try to minimize use of phone so won't bother others and hard to concentrate on developing code because of all the noise around me. And now I must work in this completely non-productive 'collaboration' location, pick up more work (which means my '40' hour salaried workweek, which became 50 after last years cuts are going to be at least 55?? ) and do a 5 1/2 hour commute?!! This is completely insane!!!! I expect to be outsourced by a robot because that's what I'm feeling like these days and will be missing my family tremendously. . . . Just hope my child doesn't become a sociopath because he's being raised without a parent around.
Collaboration, the biggest line of BS this company has shoved down our throats.
I don't think VPN, office, or location had much to do with it. I know people on both ends of the spectrum that were cut. They kept who they wanted and let go who they wanted. The bottom line is we are all vulnerable and always will be unless we find somewhere else to work or retire. Reorgs, budget cuts, and more surpluses are ahead in 2019. Spend your time planning your future and not waste it trying to guess company logic.
The logic is flawed. You could be full time remote yet have high collaboration with your coworker. And on the other hand, you could be in office 24*7, but does not collaborate that much.
@pwj - depends on your VP’s direction. Per Hopkins, ATO (CDO), if you are FOW you should be in the office a minimum of 3 days per week, but preferably 4-5, as you should be striving towards collaborating. People you bump into in the lunch room may have a new and exciting ideas for the company. (yes, she said that). Rumor has it the April lay-off notifications will be focusing more heavily on those FOW and TW. Those who don’t seem to be ‘interested’ in collaborating.
3 comments from points listed: 1) they used badge reports to know if you went to a zone 2) you can live in one state and work in another. It’s not a violation but creates a state tax issue. 3) epcrs are frozen right now, which is how you change your work address location
@pwj: +1! It's all a guessing game. You must not have gotten your Fortune Teller tSpace badge.
So exactly how should I use vpn? As FOW, I was told I can come to work two days in a week, rest time,vpn from home. Should I start to come to office everyday? What I don’t understand is: if this is allowed practice, then how can they use this as criterion to surplus you?
@cvt There are FTOs who commute to Chicagoland offices from WI and IN daily.
For a [former] telecommunications company that advertised/marketed to its customers the ability to be 'mobile' they sure do not embrace this themselves. It is like a nutritionist that is obese. They recommend good eating habits but they themselves can't stop eating into obesity.
Now, I can imagine the concept of collaboration if you work in a group that does in fact collaborate as some part of a constructive process. But if that isn't your case, job-wise, then it seems the broad brush stroking the ideas of surplus is just that, broad.
I'm in a collaboration zone but my job doesn't require collaboration. I'm assigned work on a nightly basis, execute it as designed and repeat. there are many people like myself in this same job role, but we are treated in the broad sense like a shop of PR and marketing folks trying to come up with idea.
Why give us laptops and VPN access and then complain when we use them in our non-collaborative job roles? It is like beating a dead horse, no? But the horse continues to get beaten.
From what I’ve heard, April notifications = vpn/office status (non-FTO) + location.
How can you get away with listing your office in another state? that sounds like COBC violation to me.
Management IT employees in ATO in WI who went into the office every day were canned. It’s all about location location location. Employees in WI who listed their office as Schaumburg IL (a collab zone) were spared even tho they work from home full-time with TW designation.
I was told from someone who was surplussed our org (Under Summers) mainly targeted those who were in support roles and that enhancing work is desired.
You can't un-ring the bell. If you need to change your habits, then the sooner the better. Also make sure your occupancy code is correct. You may not be able to change it down the road.
Will PAST VPN usage be a criteria going forward - or VPN usage from this day forward?
does anyone know how VPN and swipes will be used? I'm near a so called Satelitte Zone but mostly VPN from home. would swiping in once a week do any good or even every day? or would I just be wasting my time..since its not a CZ..?
VPN and occupancy codes will be watched going forward. Plan your usage and badge swipes accordingly.
From what I have heard, no, it wasn't for this round. But for the next, whenever that is...it will be.
No. Not for yesterday.